An accountability court hearing corruption cases against the Sharif family has sought responses to 127 questions from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield properties reference, a private TV channel reported on Saturday.
The Avenfield reference, pertaining to the Sharif family’s London properties, is among three filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year on the Supreme Court’s directives.
The questionnaire, handed over to the accused earlier this week, inquires Nawaz about the statements of each witness presented by his counsel. The document includes questions about the joint investigation team (JIT) that probed the Panama leaks case, all the evidences presented in the court, and letters from other countries.
Included in the questionnaire are queries about the establishment of Gulf Steel Mills and the debts and liabilities of the entity. The court has asked as to how Nawaz’s children became the director and shareholder of the Hudaibiya Paper Mills. The document also inquires about the television interviews of Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, statements of witnesses Robert Radley and Akhtar Riaz Raja, and JIT head Wajid Zia.
A question about why the reference was filed against Nawaz Sharif is also part of the questionnaire, besides statements of the prosecution witnesses against the deposed prime minister. The court has also asked the defendant if they wanted to submit any further evidence in their defence.
Published in Daily Times, May 20th 2018.
